LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Goodwill Industries of Kentucky hosted the grand opening for its $50 million opportunity center in West Louisville on Wednesday.
The 125,000 square-foot resource center is the "largest mission-related investment in the 100-year history of the nonprofit organization," according to a news release. It's located on 28th and Broadway.
Officials said the opportunity center took nearly two years to build and it was built to help "eliminate poverty" in the West End.
"This is a place where hope will live. It's a place where hope will exist. Its a place where dreams will be nurtured," DeVone Holt, vice president of external affairs for Goodwill Industries, said about the new center.
The opportunity center is expected to serve more than 50,000 people each year who are experiencing addictions, justice-involved backgrounds, education deficiencies, limited workforce histories, child-care challenges, transportation, homelessness, mental or physical disabilities and more.
The West Louisville Opportunity Center will also be home to nine co-located partners: Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Blak Koffee, KentuckianaWorks’ Kentucky Career Center, the Kentucky College of Barbering, Legal Aid Society, Park Community Credit Union, University of Louisville College of Dentistry, Volunteers of America Mid-States and the YMCA of Greater Louisville.
Officials said Goodwill expects to employ 600 people into jobs that pay nearly $15 an hour -- producing an annual economic impact of $19 million in West Louisville.
The opportunity center offers residents regular access to a child-care service, computer labs, dental services, second-chance banking, a business center, restorative justice services, workforce training, behavioral health therapy, meeting rooms, a prayer and meditation room and a café.
“The Goodwill Opportunity Campus is one of the most impactful and highly anticipated projects our city has seen, and I know it will be transformational for West Louisville and the families who live here,” Mayor Craig Greenberg said.
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